The true reason for this article is to point out some sensitive points and to start a discussion. Hopefully, this discussion will produce some useful outcome and if some people in the Linux community are willing to listen to them, I would already be very enthusiastic. Let's start, shall we?

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Everybody uses Windows because that's what came on everybody's computers. Apple has made their market by being cooler and more secure than Windows but still compatible (especially with MS Office for OS X). Linux has made their market by being a hobbiest OS and now a server OS. Don't get me wrong, I think Linux is great. I've been using Xandros at work for about 6 months now and it works extremely well. However, I'm not an average user. My experience with average users is as follows:

User 1: Not very computer literate but needs to upgrade ancient computer. I recommend a Mac. Her kids want a Mac. She decides to get a PC because all of her friends have PCs and she is comfortable with Windows and doesn't want to try anything new.

User 2: Upgrades ancient Win98 box, wants a new OS, doesn't want to pay for Windows XP. Does it run MS Office? No but OpenOffice.org is compatible. Work uses MS Office. Goes out and buys XP.

User 3: How much does MS Office cost? About $379. Can I get it for cheaper? You can get OpenOffice.org for free. Can it read and write MS Office files because work uses MS Office. Yes, just do "save as..." I don't want to have to remember to "save as..." all the time, I'll just buy MS Office.

Perhaps this sounds nutty, but many users aren't that comfortable with computers in the first place and don't want to learn anything more than they absolutely have to. The will willingly pay the MS tax in order to avoid learning something new.

If businesses start using Linux on the desktop, then users will start using Linux on the desktop. It's that simple. Until then, it's mostly for hobbiests.